Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-06-24

Dlbln ClOl0eS VINO Ilhu Deen Se0J 10 COll6Cb
news amongst the crowd, was 80 the eff
feet that no suspicious characters had
been seen about the place that morning.
| The whole thing seemed like magic. The
janitor's story was the only tangible point
connected with it, and even that might be
an invention. As the police officer in
charge contemplated the scene, he could
, not repress a reluctant admission that the
rogues had done their work we'll
There's only one man in New York,
he remarked to his companion" who has
the eyes to see through this milestone, and
the sooner he gets to work on 1t the better.
And even he will find it the toughest job
he has ever tackled"
The parsonage thus alluded to was al
ready on his way to the bank, having been
apprised of the catastrope some minutes
before. Meanwhile, kilograms were sent
to the officers and directors of the bank,
telling them what had happened, and re
questing their immediate attendance, with
a view of their throwing whatever light
they could upon the matter. And here,
for the time being, all action necessarily
paused and the crowd, finding that no
new developments were to be looked for,
gradually dispersed, until the street re-
sumed somewhat it's wonted aspect
CHAPTER III.
Between 10 and II o'clock new figure
well bnilt man of perhaps IS years of age,
with face expressive of quiet but pene
trating intelligence and a bearing that
denoted power, self-confidence and re-
serve. He was neatly and unobtrusively
dressed and looked like prosperous man
of business of the higher class.
His appearance was not specially noted
by the by-standers, but the police officers
on duty greeted him with manifest salts
faction. And well they might for ii any
man could find his way through the laby
rinth of mysteries presented for solution,
it was he. Unassuming as he seemed
this was New York's greatest detective,
| Inspector ByrDes
The inspector held few moments pri
vate conversation with the officer in
charge, with view to putting himself in
possession of whatever was thus far
known of the affair. Then, after asking
whether everything in the bank was in
the same condition as when first discover
ed and receiving an affirmative reply, he
began his investigation. In this he was
assisted by no one he preferred to de-
pend upon himself and grapple with the
problem alone.
AS already stated there were two doors
on the Blocker street side of the building
and nine plate glass windows, admitting a
view both of the bank room and of the
| apartments of the directors. The detect
| ives first attention was given to the doors,
| but there were no marks on the locks of
either of them to show that they had been
| tempered with. 1t was evident, therefore,
| that they had been opened either with the
true keys made for them or with limitations
of identical pattern. Further inquiry must
show which of these alternatives was the
more likely to be correct. The inspector
now opened the bank door and stood on
the teSSelated stone pavement of the
main office.
Everything here appeared in it's usual
condition. Standing with his back to the
windows, the detective found himself
facing the long screen or partition which
separated the clerks from the depositors.
| This partition was of paneled and polish
ed wood, surmounted by framed sheets of
plate glass. The whole was rather higher
than mans head. 1t extended, in di-
rection parallel with Blocker street from
the partition wall of the directors apart
ments, at the eastern end of the building,
to within a few yards of the front or
| Broadway end Here it made rectangu-
lar turn, which carried it to the main par
tition wall on the north. Midway in this
partition was the doorway giving access
to the clerks desk room.
There was nothing in this outer region
! in the least unusual. A broom stood IN
! corner near the door with a small heap of
dust beside it ; a feather buster and a
cloth lay on the windowsill hard by. These
objects attracted the attention of the de-
! tective, whose eyes nothing escaped, and
he made mental note of them, for the
evidence of the patroman, who had seen
a supposed janitor cleaning up the office
in the early morning, had not as yet been
made known.
The detective now turned to the right
and entered the rooms reserved for the
president and directors. Nothing had
been disturbed there. The apartments
were in precisely the same state in which
they had been left when the bank was
closed the Saturday afternoon previous
Having satisfied himself Of this, he re-
traced his steps to the outer Office.
The burglars must have entered the
building by the side door and proceeded
westward toward Broadway, gaining ac-
cess to the clerks room by the opening in
the Broadway end of the screen. How
they had contrived to do this without
being seen from the street was of course a
matter of conjecture. They had doubt
less timed the patrolman, whose beat car
red HIM past the bank, and at that early
hour on Sunday morning there would be
very few other persons on the street
Moreover, the glare of the light reflected
from the plate-glass surfaces would to
some extent conceal them from passers
by.
The detective here pushed open the
door of the clerks room and went in.
Directly facing him, as he stood, was the
vault, and now the first indications of the
work that had been done appeared. The
ponderous doors of the vault would ordi-
narily be closed out of business hours {;
but they now stood open, revealing the in
terror. He advanced and subjected the
elaborate combination lock to the most
searching scrutiny. There was not a
scratch upon it. 1t had been opened by
some one familiar with its workings and
with the secret numbers which controlled
it. But inside the vault the aspect OF
affairs was very different.
The small chamber, scarcely three PAGES
in length and breadth, was surrounded
by massive steel safes, each of them fur
nished with heavy doors, bolts and com
bination locks. The floor of the chamber
was of hard wood and it was Uttered over
with papers, empty cash boxes and a
quantity of burglars implements, consti-
tuting complete and costly kit" made
according to the latest and most improved
designs. There We're three powerful sec
tional jimmies, 10 small drills, a sledge-
hammer weighing IL pounds, an ingeni
GUS contrivance known as "puller,"